Warsaw School Board OKs Master Teacher Contract
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
The one-year agreement is for July 1, 2013, through June 30, 2014, and includes salary increases for teachers.
Board President Jennifer Tandy said late Thursday afternoon WCEA President Terry Sims contacted WCS Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz and shared that the membership of the teachers union did ratify the agreement.
Kevin Scott, WCS chief financial officer, said, “This contract is significantly different than contracts in the past. Effective July 1, 2011, the law changed over what could be in a contract and what could not. The language is limited now to pay and benefits.”
The last “traditional” contract WCS had was signed in June 2011, he continued. It was a status quo contract that included the same language and same salary levels at that time with no increases.
For the 2013-14 school year contract, Scott said they began informal discussions at the end of last school year. Teachers, board members and Scott attempted to learn together the ins and outs of the new requirements.
They attended a variety of trainings, including an Indiana School Board Association seminar which included some presentations from the Employer Relations Board. That board, Scott said, is where the new contracts have to be reported to and are online from every school district.
They traveled to Penn High School and reviewed a particular contract model, and got input on it from teachers who traveled with them, Scott said.
“So it was a lengthy process,” he noted.
Formal negotiations had a very narrow timeline. Scott said they could begin discussions Aug. 1, but had to be done by Sept. 30.
“If you haven’t reported you’ve come to an agreement by Sept. 30, the state assigns you a mediator. There’s a whole fact-finding process, so the whole scope of discussions becomes very narrow,” Scott indicated.
He said it was a great thing WCS and WCEA were able to come to an agreement within the narrow timeframe they had.
“I’m very pleased with where we’re at this evening,” Scott concluded.
After thanking Scott for serving as the chief spokesperson, Hintz said everyone learned a lot through the process.
“It’s changed because of state law. I requested that Kevin calculate the cost of this agreement and the total package is 3.8 percent. Kevin has assured us that the school corporation has the budget capacity to fund this,” Hintz stated.
It was a good process, he said, but the agreement is for only one year. The process will begin again officially Aug. 1.
Board member Dan Metzger said the agreement included a significant increase in pay for teachers and wanted to know where that money was coming from.
“The state, with the new law, the (Department of Education) provides guidance on what revenue projection is with the changes. So we took that as a starting point for discussion and then what portion of that should be available to go on teacher salaries versus increased revenue for utilities and all other groups. So that was the basis for the beginning of the discussion,” Scott responded.
As a member of the collective bargaining committee, School Board Secretary Delores Hearn said the committee discussed many different things including insurance benefits. She asked Scott to review a few of those.
Scott replied, “The extracurricular or non-teaching paying positions, ultimately the pay for those remain constant. We deleted a few positions. Two or three we added hours, like intramurals at the elementary and middle school levels. I believe also at the high school.”
As a result of another law, WCEA did agree to deductions in Health Savings Accounts contributions that the school makes. The state requires school corporations to be at or below a certain threshold in total costs for medical packages, Scott explained.
“While salaries are going to go up, Health Savings contributions are going to shrink,” he said. “So those are the main components of (the changes).”
After the board approved the agreement, Tandy stated, “Teachers are the cornerstone of providing quality education to our students that are enrolled in Warsaw Community Schools. We are pleased that we are able to recognize their contributions and reach a satisfactory agreement with the teachers union.”[[In-content Ad]]
The one-year agreement is for July 1, 2013, through June 30, 2014, and includes salary increases for teachers.
Board President Jennifer Tandy said late Thursday afternoon WCEA President Terry Sims contacted WCS Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz and shared that the membership of the teachers union did ratify the agreement.
Kevin Scott, WCS chief financial officer, said, “This contract is significantly different than contracts in the past. Effective July 1, 2011, the law changed over what could be in a contract and what could not. The language is limited now to pay and benefits.”
The last “traditional” contract WCS had was signed in June 2011, he continued. It was a status quo contract that included the same language and same salary levels at that time with no increases.
For the 2013-14 school year contract, Scott said they began informal discussions at the end of last school year. Teachers, board members and Scott attempted to learn together the ins and outs of the new requirements.
They attended a variety of trainings, including an Indiana School Board Association seminar which included some presentations from the Employer Relations Board. That board, Scott said, is where the new contracts have to be reported to and are online from every school district.
They traveled to Penn High School and reviewed a particular contract model, and got input on it from teachers who traveled with them, Scott said.
“So it was a lengthy process,” he noted.
Formal negotiations had a very narrow timeline. Scott said they could begin discussions Aug. 1, but had to be done by Sept. 30.
“If you haven’t reported you’ve come to an agreement by Sept. 30, the state assigns you a mediator. There’s a whole fact-finding process, so the whole scope of discussions becomes very narrow,” Scott indicated.
He said it was a great thing WCS and WCEA were able to come to an agreement within the narrow timeframe they had.
“I’m very pleased with where we’re at this evening,” Scott concluded.
After thanking Scott for serving as the chief spokesperson, Hintz said everyone learned a lot through the process.
“It’s changed because of state law. I requested that Kevin calculate the cost of this agreement and the total package is 3.8 percent. Kevin has assured us that the school corporation has the budget capacity to fund this,” Hintz stated.
It was a good process, he said, but the agreement is for only one year. The process will begin again officially Aug. 1.
Board member Dan Metzger said the agreement included a significant increase in pay for teachers and wanted to know where that money was coming from.
“The state, with the new law, the (Department of Education) provides guidance on what revenue projection is with the changes. So we took that as a starting point for discussion and then what portion of that should be available to go on teacher salaries versus increased revenue for utilities and all other groups. So that was the basis for the beginning of the discussion,” Scott responded.
As a member of the collective bargaining committee, School Board Secretary Delores Hearn said the committee discussed many different things including insurance benefits. She asked Scott to review a few of those.
Scott replied, “The extracurricular or non-teaching paying positions, ultimately the pay for those remain constant. We deleted a few positions. Two or three we added hours, like intramurals at the elementary and middle school levels. I believe also at the high school.”
As a result of another law, WCEA did agree to deductions in Health Savings Accounts contributions that the school makes. The state requires school corporations to be at or below a certain threshold in total costs for medical packages, Scott explained.
“While salaries are going to go up, Health Savings contributions are going to shrink,” he said. “So those are the main components of (the changes).”
After the board approved the agreement, Tandy stated, “Teachers are the cornerstone of providing quality education to our students that are enrolled in Warsaw Community Schools. We are pleased that we are able to recognize their contributions and reach a satisfactory agreement with the teachers union.”[[In-content Ad]]
Have a news tip? Email info@whitewaterpublications.com or Call/Text 360-922-3092
e-Edition
Local Events